The history of the iGaming industry has been a series of innovative solutions that led to each other. The introduction of random number generating software into gambling has turned it from an electromechanical craft into a digital one. From there, it was just a small step for RNG slots to jump from cabinets to the internet, something it did in the mid-1990s. From proprietary software, developers and operators transitioned to Flash, then from Flash to HTML5. At the same time, the games themselves continued to evolve, but so did the software platforms behind them, continuously improving on aspects like user management, support, and security.
Now, the time has come for another aspect of iGaming to evolve: responsible gaming.
Enter the AI
Entain, the company formerly known as GVC Holding, with brands like Bwin, Ladbrokes, Coral, and Gala under its umbrella, has recently presented its Advance Responsibility and Care (ARC) programme that consists of several AI-powered tools that reduce gambling harm. ARC will study extended behavioural indicators, and with their help, it will identify players that are potentially at risk before their gambling becomes a problem. This will allow the group to safeguard its customers in unprecedented ways no matter if they use their betting or casino platforms. This evolutionary step, in turn, may be the first in many that will bring iGaming to a crossroads.
Strong regulation or innovative solutions
Speaking to iGamingBusiness, Entain’s chief governance officer Robert Hoskin has revealed that he believes just that – iGaming is at a crossroads. Operators can either invest time and money in technology-led innovations or subject themselves to increasingly harsh regulations on the international market.
“I believe we are at a major fork in the road in the future of gambling. One route is poor regulation. It takes away the rights of people to do as they choose, it takes a heavy-handed approach to checks, limits and ultimately, play,” he told iGB. “That route only offers more problems, driving players to the black market with insufficient player protection checks”.
The other route, he pointed out, is the use of innovative solutions such as the company’s ARC programme. And this can be much more effective than any regulation imposed on operators by the authorities.
From within the industry
Entain’s new solution offers a series of automated interventions applied to players found to be “at-risk”, like automatically blocking them for a “cooling off” period. Ultimately, this can lead to solutions that truly work – and they can be transferred from within the industry into the regulatory framework applied by governments. Regulations that are not well thought out can have an adverse effect – Hoskins pointed out the example of Sweden, where strong regulations have pushed a number of players toward offshore operators that don’t offer the same safeguards as their local counterparts.